


Fight and Flight

by lunasuta



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Complicated Relationships, Eventual relationship, F/F, Lapis is too proud at first, Peridot is very scared, Slow Build, they're both gay though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-11
Updated: 2016-10-09
Packaged: 2018-08-14 08:45:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8006209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunasuta/pseuds/lunasuta
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peridot is a woman in her twenties who got stuck in a terrible paying job run by the Diamond authorities. Her job requires her and the other employees to do research on 'top secret' subjects. Despite her working there for years, she still has seen nothing too peculiar and she's been treated with a lack of respect. One day, she is sent on a mission, where she meets a creature who is less supernatural than she made it out to be. In fact, the creature is just a winged girl name Lapis Lazuli, who peridot ends up finding herself interested in after saving her from the Diamonds' company. Peridot has to decide her morals and where her beliefs lie. Will she defend Lapis, or will she stay loyal to the Diamonds?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Into the Diamond

**Author's Note:**

> I have not written a series in years. I hope my writing does not have too many errors.

She found herself regretting waking up this morning, not like that was anything new. She hadn’t even fixed her excuse for hair, and as she drove to the company, she knew her employees would get on her for it.

And her boss might finally kill her today for the simple slip up of not presenting herself perfectly. Not being professional made one full of ignominy in this job. Her boss reminded her of it everyday. It was extremely unfortunate; when she first started her job her boss was her idol.

Now, her opinion was polar opposite.

She continues driving her car, non-the less. Her car was a used, busted, green mustang with an air fresher and a dangling dream catcher from the mirror. Her job didn’t pay her enough to buy a new muffler, let alone a new car. She drove with the radio on a low volume playing a song that sounded like some type of classical music. 

She hated classical music.

And yet, she keeps it on the same channel, all the way until she sees the ominous building that she gets to practically live in for the rest of the day. The building itself appeared to be musky and bleak, for those who also worked there, rumored that it used to be a prison before it became the government building that it is now.

She believes it still is a prison. The people acted miserable, no personal freedom, the only difference is, she didn’t do any crimes to deserve this. 

She makes a sharp turn with her vehicle and stops in front of the closed fence. She turns to look over and out of her closed window to the small, enclosed ‘ticket booth’, and prayed that someone had answered her prayers that the machine that allowed her entrance to the building had broken and she would not have to go to work. 

To her disappointment, the small screen in the booth lit up with the demand of: ‘ENTER CUT NAME AND PRESENT PRINT TO ENTER’. The tired girl sighed and opened her window to do as the machine told. She leaned out of her car and typed, ‘PERIDOT, FACET 2F5L cut 5XG’ and placed her hand on the scanner next to the screen. 

‘ACCESS ACCEPTED’

The gate opened in front on the girls’ car and she proceeded slowly through the parking lot to her assigned parking space, the gate closing almost as soon as she entered. 

Peridot sat in her car for a moment, head down, and music still playing. 

Yellow diamond would fire her if she were late and she knew she need this job... 

Even though it didn’t pay her shit.

She finally mustered the strength to get up and out of her car. She grabbed her small bag that held nothing but some highlighters and sticky notes, and closed the door, almost forgetting to lock the vehicle. 

She was in the building, getting through a security check, just as every person were to do if they were unfortunate enough to have to go in the building. Peridot placed her small bag in a plastic box for the cops to check. She walked through the metal detector. The first reason of billions that Peridot hates her job was the security check. 

“Hey Dot, ready for inspection?”

Reason #2 Peridot hated her job: Jasper. The large, vitiligo cop was a constant flirt. Peridot wondered how she even became a security guard in the first place with her kind of attitude. 

Peridot prepared herself for he cops’ large hands to ‘inspect’ her. Jasper had the tendency to over-check a person, and defend herself by making an excuse that she thought she felt a weapon.

Jasper began at Peridot’s collar and continued to go lower, hovering over her chest and pressing to if there was anything suspicious. 

The large hands got to her breasts when Peridot gave Jasper a glare to warn her not to pull anything on her today. 

Jasper gave a superficial smirk and complied. 

“Alright Dot, seems you’re good today. Tell Ms. Yellow I said hey.”

Peridot replied by a simple nod and angry grunt as she continued to the elevators. She stepped in the old and overused elevator. Empty, to her surprise and luck. She pressed the button for the 18th floor and uses her time traveling up to prepare herself. The elevator music was always the same. 

She was looking at the ground when a bell was heard, indicating she had reached her floor. 

Deep breath, she begins walking down the gray hall to her office. 

 

There is only one window in the hall; it is at the end of the hallway where nothing can be seen if one looked through. Peridot turned, ‘ROOM 1012’, her office. 

Her office had no windows. It did, however, have a small desk with a double-screened computer and a stack of files and paper work. Peridot had added a few decorations herself, and those included a couch for visitors who never came, some pictures of programs taped to backboard of her desk, and a kitten holding a sign saying ‘hang in there!’

Peridot sat in her uncomfortable leather chair, and began working on analogies from her paperwork.

Her job was extremely ‘undercover,’ for the job itself dealt with containing and creating information of possible earth destroying weapons and other secretive information. Weapons would be ideal, but most of the paperwork included strange sightings and events of the unknown black shape citizens see in the sky. It almost acted like an Area 51, a government base, or some other stereotypically company, but much less successful. The company itself didn’t belong to the government, but contained itself under an authority known as ‘The Diamonds.' Many employees call the company illegal. Authorities have convinced them otherwise, because one year the government requested help from the company and declared the authority would not be shut down.

Peridot remains unconvinced, but she keeps quiet because it’s her only source of income. It’s not her fault the world was so skewed.

In the middle of writing a report for her 12th file, the overcome came on. 

“All cut 5 employees report to the Yellow Diamond office.”

Peridot’s eyes went wide, she was a cut 5 employee. If she was being directly called to the Diamond office, she knew it was not for a raise or a pat on the back. If she didn’t go, though, she would have an even bigger consequence. 

She grabbed her pencil, sticky notes and clipboard and power-walked to her boss’s office. No running in the building, mind you.

 

Two company guards protected the entrance to Yellow Diamond’s office, Peridot did not know the name of either, and she hoped she never had to find out. When she approached them, she presented her company I.D. and was granted access to the office, hearing the door slam and lock behind her.

She had only been in her Diamond’s office one other time, and she was still taken by awe by the size and complexity of the room. Peridot was also slightly still raged at the fact that the Diamonds used all the money on themselves.

Inside, there were three other employees. Peridot figured they were what made of the rest of the cut 5. She recognized Ms. Diamond’s assistant, who was given the name ‘Yellow Pearl’ since she had been in the company for so long. Most employees were given ‘code names’ after working in the industry for long enough. The assistant was standing in front of her boss’s desk, and behind the desk was Yellow Diamond on her computer, not even acknowledging the others. She was dressed in a suit with jewelry that all looked like could have paid for Peridot’s college institution.  
Peridot also thought she could reconcile the names of the three coworkers standing in the office with her. Amethyst, who was known for her recently made rumors about the company (one including that the Diamonds owned a mass-destruction bomb), Jenny, a laid-back employee, and Ruby, the try-hard.

All of them were new and replacements for the old employees who were fired only three days ago. Two of the three had family who knew the Diamond and the third had enough history and education to be hired. Yellow Diamond was in desperate need for replacements, or else she would’ve resorted to more trained persons. Peridot met the new employees during her ten-minute lunch break. Immediately, Peridot knew with the three girls’ personalities, they would be fired in the compartment before Ms. Diamond could say ‘authority.'

Peridot went to stand beside Ruby and waited for orders. The other three were very respectful, despite their usual rambunctious personalities.

Yellow Pearl started the ‘meeting.'

“All of the required cuts are here, my Diamond.”

Without looking up from her screen, Yellow Diamond began.

“Unfortunately, you four were the only ones available for this mission. It is the most catastrophic coincidence that I have to waste my time on this. You four are of such unimportance, that I figured a few days of work loss from you cant hurt this company too much. And all of you know our more… ‘Specialized’ employees have more important missions to do.”

It made sense. Peridot and the others were not important enough to the company that they were being sent on a mission the Diamonds didn’t want to send anyone of importance on. There were so few of those anyway.

Peridot began. “My Diamond, can we-“

“I was not finished. You wouldn’t want to lose your job after five years, I assume, Ms. Peridot?” Yellow Diamond had not looked up and kept the same expression.

“No my Diamond.”

“Then I suggest you shut your mouth. My assistant will give you information on the ride there.”

Jenny perked up. “Ride? You didn’t say anything about going anywhere!”

Yellow Diamond was finished. “I made myself clear. Get them out of my office, Yellow Pearl.”

 

The ride to the unknown place was quiet besides Yellow Pearls explanation. None of the girls talked, Yellow Pearl was a tube straight to the boss. No one wanted to lose their job yet. Correction, no one needed to lose their job yet. 

“The Blue Diamond industries found an object that may help code for future investments.” Yellow Pearl began to explain, looking down at a clipboard. “Your mission is to simply get information from the object. It’s more dangerous than you think; despite the fact we have it secured. After you get information, some of the Diamond authorities assistance will dispose of the object, so you have no need to worry about your information being tracked or proved to outside sources.”

“Hold up, are you saying we could die?” Amethyst leaned in and tried to look at the papers Yellow Diamond was reading from. 

Yellow Diamond’s assistant moved away from the curious employee. “Possibly, you signed all the paperwork when you joined this company, so you have no room to sue us if the worst happens.”

“I never read the terms before signing.” Amethyst replies.

“Your fault, not mine.” Yellow Pearl almost hisses, subtly.

The car stops and the doors open before anyone can make anymore of an argument. The windows in the car were tinted, so no one knew what they were about to witness.

The car is inside a barbed wired fence with a one story building in the center. The place looked like a concentration camp. 

The four girls got out of the car; Yellow Pearl still siting inside. “Wait in front until someone assists you. Farwell.” Her last words before the car exits the temporarily opened gate.

 

 

“While we’re waiting, lets do some chit chat! It may be the last one of our lives, girls.” Amethyst puts her arms around Peridot and Ruby. Peridot nudges out of her grip. “Sure, it would be good to get to know the girls I’ll be dying with.” Jenny jokes back. “What if the Diamonds are listening?” Ruby stares down the two giggling employees. Amethyst glares back, “I don’t really care, this job sucks.” Jenny offers her hand to Amethyst for a high five. “I agree. The only reason I’m here is cause my mom told me to work here. She said something about me getting into the ‘top secret’ industry” Her high five request is granted. “You too?” Amethyst laughs. “My mom forced me to get a job here too. The sooner I get my paycheck, the sooner I can dump this excuse for a job.  
Peridot silently agreed, but it had become second nature to argue with anyone who questioned the Diamonds control. “You all need to stop, we have been assigned a mission, and we need to obey it.” To Peridot’s surprise, Ruby had stepped up before she had. 

“Ruby, you’re so much cooler than that, come on, we’re going to be fired soon anyway.” Jenny slapped the try-hard’s arm.

“Guys, I worked really hard to get this job.”

Amethyst rolled her eyes, “The boss treats us like shit and it’s only our third day!” 

Jenny adds on, “Yea, plus this job has long hours, to take your time away from your girl.” 

Ruby’s face becomes pale. “Leave Sapphire out of this conversation!”

“Why? She said this job was bad too-“

“All of you just shut up!” Peridot cracks. The three girls turn to the longest employed in shock. She hadn’t said a word the entire time. “I get it. You don’t like this job, and Ms. Diamond treats us like coal. Can’t you all talk about it when we’re not on a life-threatening mission?”

“That’s the point, man” Amethyst ended.

Before she could explain, what looked like their escorts opened the door to the building.

There were two escorts, one with rainbow dreadlocks, to which Peridot wondered how she would get a job with hair like that. The other was, to Peridot’s horror: Jasper.

“Why are you here?” Peridot tried her best not to sound enraged, but miserably failed. 

“I’m a cop for all the Diamonds, so I get to escort you four.” Jasper states like it is a matter of fact. Peridot detected the lie before it even came from her mouth. Jasper worked for Pink Diamond, she just found any excuse to get around to the other Diamonds' business, her being a security guard was one of them.

Peridot knew Jasper was a more powerful woman, so she felt protected from whatever the object would be.

She didn’t fell protected from Jasper herself.

There was no more talking, the other escort signaled with her hand to stop chatting and to start following.

The four employees and two cops entered the building through heavy, metal doors that were already unlocked. The interior of the building included blinding white wall tiles, an un-tiled ceiling, and a lightly colored stone floor. The entrance split into two hallways that looked identical. Between those hallways was an empty desk and waiting room. 

Peridot wondered why a place like this would even need a waiting room.

The two cops led the group to the left and didn’t make any detours to the doors on the sides of the hallway. 

Eventually, after what felt like an eternity of walking, Jasper and the other cop took a door to the right that looked identical to all the others. The cops held the doors open for the employees to enter first. Perhaps they wanted to put the lives of the workers at risk before their own? 

The new hallway eventually went lower three crumbled steps to, what looked like, an old warehouse basement. The room was filled with crates and metal poles, holding up the ceiling.  
Everything in this place reeked with the creepy stereotype.

The group stopped and began to look for the possibly dangerous object. So far, nothing seemed too out of the ordinary. The group just stared, quietly.

Suddenly, one of the crates near the wall of the room was flung towards the cops, who in return, ran away and ducked from the debris.

“It’s feisty today…” Jasper finally broke the silence. “Go ahead and take a look, it wont bite, we got ‘em chained up this time.

Peridot let her eyes adjust after all the caprice. She let her gaze follow where the origin of the crate was thrown. She squinted and she saw the last thing she ever expected to see in this career.

A girl.


	2. Liberty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got the time to write this. I only had time to proof read it a few times, so it might not be perfect. Hope it is still enjoyable.

Peridot blinked. Then blinked again. Then blinked one more time, thinking maybe she had been in this job for too damn long and her senses started to abase. 

Unfortunately, her sight was just fine, and she was indeed, looking at a girl.

She was looking at a winged girl.

It was nearly impossible to miss the gigantic, light grey, feathered wings that spewed from the girls back. They were almost as hard to miss as the girl’s blue hair and piecing turquoise eyes. She wondered if her hair were natural or dyed for a moment.

Peridot examined closer, her eyes squinting as she looked at the creature from a distance. She was wearing what looked like a prison outfit. It was a light orange jumpsuit with the ‘Diamond’ Logo printed on the chest region. The outfit was torn in the back, due to her wings, and based on the woman’s face; it was forced on her as well. 

The girls face was pointed in Peridot’s direction. She was looking directly at her. 

The winged woman’s face held a scowl, but when Peridot looked to her eyes, despite what the girl wanted to portray, they held immense fear.

Peridot decided it would be best to avert her gaze, so she instead stared at her fellow employees, who looked just as shocked as she felt.

Jenny had her jaw hanging open, Amethyst had her eyes as large as saucers, and Ruby had frozen. Peridot’s attention was broken by a voice.

“Are we supposed to leave ‘em alone to do the research, Bismuth?” Jasper had loudly whispered to the cop with the rainbow dreadlocks. 

The other cop glanced at the group of employees and Peridot realized the cop noticed she was listening after glancing at her. “You can go, I’ll stay, keep watch, and dispose.” When she said ‘dispose’ she had slammed her fist into her palm to show Jasper the hint she would do all the dirty work for her. 

“Thanks. Glad you’ll do the Bismuth for me.” Jasper chuckled, but Bismuth simply breathed through her nose hard. 

“No problem, just don’t use my joke” Jasper smirked and nodded in reply before turning to leave the large room.

Peridot and the others still remained stationary. No one had written anything down or even said anything for that matter. It was almost impossible to do anything in the atmosphere that room gave off. Bismuth finally made the suggestions.

“Y’all know it’s ok to get closer, she wont bite… At least I don’t think. Besides, it’s your job to take notes, I think.”

Peridot was starting to wonder why they wouldn’t keep the creature in a more secured place, then she remember that the company never put money or effort into anything besides the Diamonds’ reputation. 

Amethyst was the first to step forward, her eyes still wide. 

“Damn! Are those real? Can you even speak? I mean English. Can you make any sounds?” She looked back at Jenny. “This is the coolest shit I’ve ever seen!”

The winged girl furrowed her brow and kept her frown. She said nothing.

“Girl, be more respectful towards something that could kill you!” Jenny walked to where Amethyst had gone and lightly slapped her forearm. Amethyst simply laughed, as if her life were not in danger anymore.

Ruby had kept her distance and pulled out a pen from her pocket and leaned over to Peridot, asking her for paper.

Peridot, being she, always had spare paper for taking notes. She gave Ruby a piece torn from the sticky note pile she kept in her pocket. She was not allowed to bring any luggage besides that and a writing utensil on the mission.

Ruby quietly thanked her and moved away to take notes, using her hand as a hard surface to write on (and clearly failing).

“Yo, Peri! You’re the most devoted to this job, how about you get the closer look? She wont respond to us.” Amethyst yelled back to Peridot, even though they were in hearing range.

“Don’t call me that.” Peridot started. “And I-“

She took a look at the creature once more and saw the disdain on her face. Maybe she could get her to talk? Maybe, just maybe, she could get good information.

Maybe she could impress her Diamond?

It was a long shot. Peridot had been working there for five years and never stood out to her boss. But still, this mission was the biggest thing she’s ever dealt with. She didn’t like her job. Sure, in the beginning she did. She even admired her boss in the beginning. Maybe, just maybe, this information could make her a higher rank?

Peridot knew it probably wouldn’t happen, but it’s better than coming back empty handed, anyway.

Peridot made up her mind after thinking a moment longer and confronted the creature. She got close enough to talk privately, but not close enough to be in the chain’s radius. 

The winged girl stared up at her from the ground. She had gone to her knees and almost looked defeated.

“You… You have very lovely wings.” Peridot tried, sounding desperate.

The woman’s stare narrowed even further. She finally opened her mouth to speak, her words sounding like the clearest water from the ocean. But the water was raging.

“Piss off.” She hissed. 

“Look I’m not here to hurt y-“ Peridot tried to begin.

“No, you’re the ones here to suck information from me. The big ones are the ones here to hurt me” 

Peridot was at a stalemate. It was true. She had to think of something.

“Alright, alright, you’re right. I know you’re scared I just-“

The girl rolled her eyes. “Trying to comfort me wont make me spill.”

“Then what will?”

The girl looked to the left for a second, grew a smirk, then looked back up at Peridot. 

“How about you let me stretch these ‘very lovely’ wings of mine?” The girl said, spreading her wings slightly as she spoke.

Peridot crossed her arms. “I’m not that incompetent.”

The girl blinked, but didn’t lose her smile. “Do you think I’m that different from you?”

Peridot was a bit flabbergasted at the question and random change of subject. Was she that different? Sure she had wings and blue hair. But she seemed to show human emotions and speech. Perhaps she didn’t know enough to even answer that. 

“I don’t know you well enough to answer that, stranger.” Peridot begins to smile, despite herself. Why was she talking about this when there were more important matters to talk about?

The girl went on. “You think it’s ok to kill something just because you don’t understand it?”  
Peridot’s smile left as soon as it came.

She didn’t have the guts to answer. She knew what was morally right, and what was right according to her job. This question could apply to so many touchy subjects. The girl was right to ask that question. Peridot didn’t know how to answer once again. She realized how fucked up her job was at that moment. Really fucked up.

The girl continued to wait for an answer.

“No, it is not correct to kill something just because you don’t understand it. Your life continuing or not is not my decision, though.”

“Why not?” The girl challenged.

Why not? Because she needed this job and she could be fired.

“I don’t know.”

The girl ran her fingers through her blue hair.

“Well, since it’s the last day of my life, I guess.” She begins with a sigh. “Tell me about you, cause I got nothing better to do on my last day apparently.”

Peridot was slightly pained. This girl was going to be murdered because she was slightly different. She knew how distorted the world was before, but now she got to see it close up. She decided to try and be positive, even though it was hard for her; she thought it was the best option.

“My name is Peridot.” 

“That’s a weird name. But hey, that’s coming from someone named Lapis Lazuli.”

Did she just-

“Your name is Lapis? Never thought I’d even get any info out of you.” Peridot joked, despite the current situation.

“It’s my death day, why not? Might as well burn my name into your memory after you let them kill me.” 

“Well, aren’t you full of optimism?” The blonde huffed. Lapis’s mood seemed to fall back into an aggressive hopelessness. She seemed to have nothing to lose, so she tried to play a more hostile card.

“You should meet me when I’m not chained up in a basement, then I’m really lovable.” Lapis sarcastically remarked with a low growl.

Peridot felt her guilt get heavier each word Lapis said. Each statement made her feel like she had to carry another bolder of sympathy. She couldn’t believe this was happening to her.

She couldn’t do anything. She couldn’t. The Diamonds’ would never let her. She can’t.

“We should meet somewhere else then.”  
What was she saying?

“Alright, see you in hell then.” Lapis breathed

“That’s not what I meant. I could help free y-“

Peridot stopped speaking when she saw Lapis’s expression change from slight anger to horror. Peridot looked around to see behind her.

Bismuth had gotten closer and had been listening. 

“Did I hear something just now miss Peridot?” The rainbow haired woman leaned down to get closer to Peridot’s height, towering over her.

When Peridot didn’t answer she continued. “All your other employees have been taking notes, not getting comfy with this.” She pointed to Lapis.

“I-I needed to get closer information.” Peridot defended. “How would we know it’s origin. O-or it’s potential powers…”

Bismuth glared at her a long moment, looked back at Amethyst, Jenny, Ruby, and then looked back at Peridot. She leaned closer to Peridot’s face with a look of hatred. raised her arm,

Then she pat her on the back, laughing as she did so. Bismuth's expression changed to that of joy.

“Man, you should’ve seen how scared y’all looked!” Bismuth chuckled.

Peridot gave a confused look and tried to make sense of everything that had just happened. Had the cop gone insane with power? Why was she laughing? She was about to ask, when Bismuth began again. 

“We’re gonna break this little creature free!”

“What!?” Peridot nearly screamed. “But you’re a cop for Pink Diamond! You’ll be fired! Or worse!” She blabbered.

Bismuth simply smiled and stretched her arms before continuing.

“Not exactly, see, I pose as a cop for Pink Diamond to help innocent people and animals. The ideal was started by one of Pink Diamond’s employees, Rose.”

Peridot couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Bismuth didn’t explain anything else. She looked back at Lapis, instead of trying to comprehend what had just been said to her.  
Lapis had a mixture of shock and awe plastered on her face. Her composition was more proud now, instead of the depressing crouch she was in before. 

When Peridot looked back up at Bismuth, the imperious looking woman had already turned to the other employees. 

“So, is everyone down with this? I don’t want any snitches or pussies who will back out.”

Peridot was bewildered that the cop announced that. She seemed to be fearless with her plans. 

Amethyst was the first to reply.

“Hell yea! This will be the only good thing to come out of this job!” The shorter, long haired employee shoved her fist in the air.

“I’m in.” Jenny smirked. 

The only person who hadn’t replied was Ruby. The short woman had been looking at the others with fear. She still held her sticky note and pencil, but did not move. It was Jenny who started to encourage her, walking over to Ruby’s side.

“Come on man, we’ll make sure we keep your job. We’ll be careful. Plus, think of how happy Sapphire would be if you helped free an innocent creature?”

Hearing her girlfriend’s name was all it took for Ruby to break.

“Fine, but if we get caught, I’m blaming all of you.”

Peridot turned her gaze back to Bismuth after Ruby had agreed. The woman was now looking at her with a questioning gaze.

“Haven’t heard you say you’re in yet.” She said, crossing her arms with a frown.

Peridot looked back at Lapis. Lapis looked Peridot straight in the eyes. The blonde saw the turquoise hue of her orbs, sighed, and spoke.

“I was already planning on helping, but yes, I’m game.”

Bismuth smiled once again. She looked around the room once more. Peridot followed her gaze to her employees. They looked excited, except for Ruby, who looked a bit scared still. Jenny put her hand on Ruby’s shoulder and she seemed to calm down. Bismuth turned her head once more and Peridot saw she was looking at Lapis. The large woman had offered her hand to Lapis.

“Ready for your liberty?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long to update. School takes up all my time, as expected. I will try to post a new chapter every Saturday.


	3. Rise over Run

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time has not been in my favor lately.

Why did she have to be wearing heels on this day of all days? Not only did they make her run so much slower than those ahead of her, but the shoes made the loudest ‘click’ sound every step as well. The last thing the girl wanted was to get caught by—who ever was chasing them. The group was just running through the hallways even though no one was after them. They were just running from their fear of being caught.

Before their escape run begun, a very proud Lapis finally decided to take Bismuth’s hand, the winged girls chains were broken by the strong, rainbow haired woman snapping them with powerful hands. The group began to have a respect for Bismuth after the display. The group had shared a brief comment about how stupid this was and then began running out the closest, clearest hallway.

Bismuth had been leading the escape, although she appeared to have no idea where she was going. Peridot wondered if Jasper really was the one who knew more than Bismuth. The fake cop took no turns and kept running down the same hallway, looking for the best escape route.

Peridot, still falling behind due to her heals, noticed Lapis giving her glances every now and then. The mysterious girl didn’t use her wings indoors to gain speed; instead, she kept them bent so she could run as fast as the others.

That was until she fell slightly behind to match Peridot’s pace.

“Do you want us to get captured?! Just take off your shoes, dipshit!” She bugged.

Peridot grumbled, but didn’t protest. She hopped on one leg to take off her left shoe, and then repeated the process to the right shoe. She held the pesky shoes in her left hand and began to book it to catch up with the group.

Peridot thought these hallways would never end, until the leader of the group made a sudden halt. Almost crashing into the rest, Peridot stared at Bismuth with a confused mien.

The poser cop looked back at everyone behind her and made a hand signal that Peridot didn’t understand.

Lapis and Ruby pressed themselves against the wall, then the rest of the group followed suit. Bismuth made another signal that looked like she was trying to stop someone from moving.

Suddenly, Bismuth walked further down the hallway and turned a corner. Peridot heard a familiar voice.

“Bismuth! Finished already? You really are the best of the best!”

Jasper.

“Thanks, but I have no clue how to get out of the maze of a building. Do you know where another exit is besides the one we came in through?”

There was a long pause and Peridot wondered what was going on beyond her eyesight.

“Back through the hall way you just came from and to the left through the first double doors, here, I’ll show you.”

Peridot started to panic as she heard loud footsteps getting louder each step. The rest of the group gave startled looks to one another. Ruby looked at her almost to question her what to do. Peridot had no plan. They could go through one of the doors, but that might not be safe.

“No, it’s fine, Jasper, I’m sure I can manage on my own.” To Peridot’s and everyone’s relief, Bismuth seemed to have stopped the other cop.

“If you say so. Where are the others? I thought you were gonna escort them.” The deep powerful voice boomed to Bismuth.

Bismuth fibbed nearly flawlessly, never stuttering. “I let them stay for awhile to get more information. I was going to come back and get them after finding another exit.”

Although Peridot realized that explanation had so many errors in it, Jasper seemed to have bought it—or maybe she just didn’t care enough. She didn’t blame her though; she would’ve hated to be involved with this. Well, she is involved, but she hates it.

“Alright, I just hope they didn’t make a mess or do something wrong, I don’t feel like filling paperwork.” And with that, the loud footsteps began again, but seemed to have gotten quieter each step.

The employees and winged girl waited for a few moments before Bismuth appeared out of the corner.

“Alright, I’m sure you all heard, we’re heading back this way.” The rainbow dreadlocked woman whispered.

No one question her. Everyone just turned tails and began at a power-walking speed towards said door on the left. Bismuth made her way to the front again. Peridot felt her lack of exercise finally catching up to her.

To Peridot’s luck, after a few yards, Bismuth halted and quickly opened the first double doors she saw on the left. Peridot pushed her way to look in the double door. Ruby seemed to be having a panic attack beside her all of a sudden. Before looking closer, Peridot turned to look at her other fellow employees. Both Amethyst and Jenny looked somewhat flabbergasted and confused. When she looked at the escaped creature, she saw complete fury.

“Where… Is the exit?” The small, anxious employee asked. Peridot looked at both sides of the hallway. There was no door that appeared to be an outage; the only door was at the end of the hall.

“The brute lied to us.” Lapis growled. Giving a quick glance to Lapis, Peridot saw the woman was struggling to keep her wings under control, as she was outraged.

Peridot felt anxiety bubbling up in her chest. Now what? Was the entrance they came through the only exit? If they even found that entrance, they could be caught easily by Jasper or anyone outside for that matter. They could risk it, but if there was someone, everything would be unexplainable and they would be ‘burned at the stake.’

Bismuth moved forward, without saying a word. She stood for a minute. “No she didn’t, the exit just isn’t marked.” The poser cop moved forward to the door at the end of the hallway and slightly creaked it open to just look through the crack in the door.

“It’s clear, we just have to make it over the fence.”

Ruby began to shake. “What about cameras?”

Bismuth closed the door and craned her neck slightly to look at the rest. “You think the Diamonds actually put in cash for cameras?” she chuckled slightly. “How do you think I haven’t been caught all these years?”

Ruby seemed to have stopped shaking, but she continued to look startled.

Bismuth turned back to the door. “Hey, blue, you think you can fly us over the fence?”

Lapis didn’t reply, Peridot looked back at her to see her expression. She was glaring directly at her, staying clear of Bismuth’s gaze. “Why should I? I owe you nothing.”

Peridot couldn’t believe what she was hearing. They all just risked their jobs and possibly their lives to free a creature they didn’t even know and she wasn’t even going to help them escape in return? The blonde finally seemed to gain her common sense back and realized she was betraying the Diamonds.

She was betraying her Diamond.

“You will help us or stars help me you will not only be prisoner, but your escape will give you awful consequences. I- we have risked ourselves for you.” Peridot let her anxiety and rage control her speech. She didn’t realize she just threatened this girl she didn’t even know until after she finished her sentences.

Lapis looked at Peridot with a slight frown, before slightly smirking.

“I though you were the one who suggested my freedom, wouldn’t you get in trouble? You seem to change your morals every hour, Peridot.” The winged girl calmly replied. “And really? ‘Stars help me’ are you afraid to swear?”

“I can’t-“ Peridot started, but it was Amethyst who interrupted.

“I think we’re both fucked if we don’t help each other, so unless we stop fighting, neither of us are going to make it out unharmed. I don’t even want to know what our boss will do to us.”

Peridot was so conflicted. She couldn’t comprehend anything anymore.

Bismuth began walking back to the group she had led. “Look, blue, the only way you’ll be safe is if you help us. If we are caught, we will have no choice to give away your escape. If you help us out, we can say we desposed you and your body and you will be safe. We can’t go out the other way without looking suspicious, I already asked Jasper the way out, she would think we’d be out by now.”

The winged woman didn’t reply for sometime. Peridot refused to look at her. She couldn’t focus on anything. She couldn’t believe she even thought of betraying the Diamonds. She couldn’t believe she betrayed them.

“Fine.” Lapis grumbled.

Bismuth turned to the door once again. “Alright, everyone follow my exact orders when we get outside, don’t hesitate at my orders. Ready?”

Avoiding Lapis, Peridot saw Jenny and Amethyst nodding enthusiastically. Ruby stood frozen like usual, but worded ‘ok.’

“Follow me.”

Bismuth slid through the door. The two energized employees ran after her immediately, with Ruby slightly behind them. Peridot shot an angered look at Lapis, before the blue haired girl walked out, ignoring her.

Peridot stormed to the door, ready to shield her eyes to the sunlight, until she realized the sun was gone and was replaced by a half moon.

“Ok, blue, I want you to take Ruby over first, can you manage everyone’s weight?” Bismuth whispered.

“I guess.” Without warning or consent, Lapis swooped Ruby up in her arms and flew over the fence, with a powerful guest of wing made by her wings. Ruby yelped slightly, but tried to conceal her voice in fear of being heard.

Lapis flew back over in seconds, grabbing Amethyst without asking Bismuth or Amethyst for permission.

No one said anything, although Bismuth’s featured appeared somewhat disdained in the darkness.

The process continued with Jenny, then with Bismuth being picked up, whispering something to Lapis that sounded like a scold. Although Bismuth was larger and heavier than the others, Lapis seemed to have enough strength to carry her, though she did seem to struggle.

All that was left was Peridot. She could barely make out the shape of the others in the distance, beyond the fence as she waited for Lapis to return for her.

A minute had seemed to pass and Peridot began to panic. Did they leave her? Were they going to end up blaming her for everything? She was kind of rude to them before. They might be trying to use her as the one to point their fingers if they were found.

Lost in thought, Peridot nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a pair of arms grab her from behind and lift her up.

“What took you so long? And why did you try and scare me like that?!”

The woman holding her snorted, but before she could reply, her short laugh seemed to have broke her focus and balance as she lost altitude and angled her with wings slightly.

This wouldn’t have been a problem if Peridot’s weight hadn’t been there, but was, and Lapis swung herself and Peridot over the fence, landing with a thud, without any grace.

The four that had already made it to the other side rushed to Peridot and Lapis.

It was Bismuth who spoke first. “Are you alright? What happened up there?”

Peridot shook her head and tried to examine her body. She didn’t feel any major pain. She didn’t think she sprained or broke anything. The only thing hurting her was her decisions.

“Shit…” Not realizing Lapis until she cursed. Did she always have to use a curse word in every sentence? Peridot wonder for a millisecond before someone spoke.

“W-what’s wrong?” The short, timid, Ruby leaned over the crouched Lapis.

“Well, besides the fact that I’m a wanted prisoner and that I was almost killed today, I would say that nothing’s wrong. Oh! How could I forget, my wing is now fucking broken because I help you assholes!” Ruby backed up slowly and asked no more questions. The group seemed to start a muffled discussion, all but Peridot commenting on the situation.

“No one panic.” Bismuth cooed, trying to keep everyone quiet. “Someone will just have to look after you and keep you in hiding until you can fly again.”

Lapis scoffed. “Are you saying I have to stay with one of you?”

Before Bismuth could answer, Jenny spoke up. “I can’t take her, I live with my family.”  
Ruby added on too. “Me neither… I’m not good at hiding things, plus I don’t want to get Sapphire in trouble.”

It was silent after that as everyone seemed to try and gather their thoughts after the hectic event that just occurred. Peridot tried to clear her mind. She didn’t want to take her. She could get in huge trouble. She already was. She was coming back empty handed…

Wait. There’s another one of those insane thoughts again. If she kept her, she could secretly suck out information. Her Diamond would suspect the other employees more anyway. She was already in trouble, if she could buy time with detailed information, she sure as hell would. She would just have to make sure her Diamond thought Lapis was dead until she gave her the information. It had many holes in it, but it seemed like the most rewarding option. To add to that, Lapis would think she really did want to help her. It’ll make her look like she knew what she was doing all along. It’ll be a solid moral. It would be a solid plan.

“I’ll take her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that this is a day late. School has still been cruel to me. I'm also in a play now, so I have even less time. I'll try to keep up though. New chapters every Saturday or Sunday, depending on how busy I am.


	4. Window Room

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally figured out how to make the italics go through. If anything was fishy in previous chapters, it's probably because italics were supposed to be there.

When Peridot was younger, she didn’t care where she would live as long as the place had a sunroom—or any room mostly covered with windows. She loved the idea of a room being made of something besides opaque walls.

She had never lived in a house with one, and it was a wonder why she wanted one. The house that included such rooms were always extra in terms of cost and although her family had enough money for a decent home, they could not afford extra, no matter how much Peridot asked.

As she got older, her opinion stayed the same.When she searched for apartments, she made sure to find one that included what she always imagined.

When she finally found one she could afford, however, it was puny and lacked an abundance of rooms. She took it, nonetheless, because the view proved the salesmen wrong on the amount of space the place had.

 

“So this is where I’ll be stuck?” Peridot hadn’t even opened the door yet and there was already criticism.

It was hard enough trying to sneak Lapis to her apartment without anyone seeing her—in fact, even with her wings folded and a sheet covering them, it was difficult. Fortunately, no one saw them. Getting the limbs into an elevator to get to the sixth floor was another ball game. But even with all that, the most challenging thing, to Peridot, was the ‘angel's’ vocals.

Although the apartments were in an _interesting_ place downtown, there weren’t many people to their luck. Also to their relief, most people seemed to be sleeping at this hour. The apartment buildings themselves almost represented the location’s vibe. Appearing intimidating and large, but the contrast of so on the inside. There were only around twenty rooms the building offered. That was another reason that led Peridot to it: Less people, less problems.

 

_After Peridot had offered to take the constant, pain-in-the-ass Lapis back at the scene, Bismuth had called up some ‘buddy’ of hers to transport everyone back. It was amazing to see how much Bismuth had committed to that._

_When the ‘buddy’ arrived in a black_ _Cadillac DTS with tinted black windows, similar to the car Yellow Diamond sent them in, no one stepped out of the car when it halted. No one said anything, the dreadlocked woman just opened the door and gesture the group in—Lapis last, having to bend her gigantic wings in what looked to be a painful way to fit. She had grumbled some curse but said nothing else._

_The car had started and the driver had introduced themselves after turning around and revealing their features. The woman looked to have a slim body and soft blue eyes. In the dim light, her skin seemed pale and she had short, ginger hair. Her name was ‘Pearl.’_

_The drive was rather short. Pearl had repeated what Bismuth said to them earlier; who they were and what they did. The ginger told them their group name was something like “Crystal Gem” or something like that, Peridot was too tired to listen. Bismuth and Pearl talked casually like old friends that had nothing to worry about. Amethyst had often chimed in to ask questions, as If severely interested. Ruby and Jenny seemed to jut want to get home. The group dropped off Lapis and Peridot where the blonde had instructed to go. Bismuth and the others stayed in the car. Amethyst and Jenny waved goodbye, but remained silent._

 

“Would you rather live out in the street? Because, frankly, I don’t care either way.” Peridot was beyond exhausted. She never worked this hard in her job. Sure, she had to stay overtime with no pay on some days and work at home on paperwork, but now she was tired not only mentally, but also emotionally and physically.

The hinges squeaked open and the tired employee dragged herself in, without checking to see if her guest was following her. She didn’t look back at all until she heard a ‘THUNK.’

“What the hell is it now?” Losing all hospitality she thought she had, Peridot groaned. She tries to focus her blind eyes, wishing she didn’t lose her glasses weeks ago, to see Lapis on the ground looking frustrated.

She got back up and turned so her side was facing the door, then tried to bend her wings to get through the opening. She went slowly, eventually fitting an entire wing through, followed by her body. Lapis finally slid though the door, slamming it shut behind her.

“It’s sad that this isn’t the first time this has happened.” The blue hair woman snickered. “They don’t make doors for extra limbs, do they?”

Peridot went to open her mouth. “Rhetorical question.” Lapis put in before the blonde could say anything.

“Alright… Well the you can sleep on the couch—Ill pull it out for you in a minute.” Her apartment’s living room was somewhat attached to the kitchen. The floor changed from carpet to hardwood to indicate the room change. The living room was a closet with a couch and small TV that still used antennas, and the kitchen was about the same size. Peridot pointed to the small hallway that led out from the living room they had just entered. “The bathrooms on the left, first room… _If_ you even use it _._ My bedroom is the next room down, so please don’t go in there.”

Lapis gazed around the apartment; she didn’t need to turn her head to see it in its entirety. “I’m not some alien, you know. I function like a human. I just have-” She moved her wings slightly. Peridot made a mental note to write that down later. “These… Anyway, What’s the room at the end of the hall?”

Peridot nearly forgot about the star of her apartment. What a day, actually, what a life at this point.

“That’s the sunroom. The views pretty great from in there.”

Her mouth opened in a large yawn as she stretched her arms over her head. Peridot needed sleep; she was not a night owl type of person and she was gradually paying those dues. The blonde rubbed her face hard with her hands to try and keep her awake long enough to pull out the makeshift bed.

“Do you want a blanket?” Peridot echoed as she fluffed the pillows on the bed.

 “Sure.” Lapis began to stretch the wing that was not broken, oblivious to the fact of her surroundings; she accidently knocked the antennas off of the TV.

 “Oops…” The winged woman covered her mouth. Peridot felt somewhat frustrated, but was way too tired to get enraged. “I’ll deal with it tomorrow…” She mummers to no one. The employee goes down the hall and enters her room to take a blanket from a basket in the corner of her bedroom.

Walking back out, she yawns, “Here, I’m going to sleep now. Please try not to mess anything else up in _my_ apartment.” Peridot tries to sound threatening, but ends up sounding monotone due to the want of rest. Yearning for sleep, she turns her back to her guest and slowly walks back to her room.

“Will do, boss.” Peridot hears Lapis sarcastically respond, but she doesn’t care. She doesn’t even snap back. She isn’t shocked that Lapis didn’t swear at her. She doesn’t even really care if she breaks anything else.

 She only cares about lying in her bed and getting information for her Diamond.

 Finding an oasis in a desert after walking for days with twenty pounds on your back couldn’t even compare to how Peridot felt when her body hit her bed. She didn’t even bother changing into her pajamas. She didn’t even pull a blanket over herself. It only took a few minutes for her to go from tired, to passing out.

It was past three in the morning and she had to be at work by seven.

 

Peridot usually didn’t have dreams, or maybe she just didn’t remember them. She would close her eyes, then open them after hours, as if nothing happened. Despite her dreamless sleep, she was still upset to be disturbed by a crashing sound.

She jumped up from her bed, droll still planted on her chin, and crept to the open door of her bedroom that she had forgotten to close when she fell asleep.

Peridot’s first thought was to check on Lapis, which she did, quietly walking down the hallway to the living room where she was supposedly sleeping. Supposedly. And she was not. Not only was she not sleeping, but she also was not there.

Panics arouse through Peridot’s gut and she froze. Her blood ran cold and she was unsure to be furious or scared. She began to pace. That was the only option. Back and forth. Maybe she was out stretching her wing? Sure she was wounded, but she can still run! Maybe she wanted to look around? Maybe-

“Stupid, stupid, stupid!!!” Peridot began stomping down the hallway, choosing rage as the emotion to overcome her. “Great plan! Invite some strange creature in your house and expect them-” She passes her room. “To stay and respect me and not--”

Lapis was sitting in the sunroom.

Peridot stopped her rant and stopped her stomping. Lapis did not stir; she just remained siting on the floor of the windowed covered room, looking out a window.

Moments passed, nether making an advance, until Lapis speaks, unmoving. “Sorry, I disobeyed your orders.” She finally turns. “I hope this vase wasn’t too important.”

Peridot was surprised to hear Lapis sounding _generally_ sorry. Maybe she was just imagining it?

“Not really, I just bought a year ago to add something to the room.” The blonde began walking over to Lapis.

“I think it doesn’t need a vase to add something.” Lapis turned her gaze back to the window. “The chair and the view is all you need.” Peridot added, agreeing. She hesitates to sit down beside Lapis, but shoves the timid feeling down her throat and sits anyway.

Lapis doesn’t reply. They both sit as Peridot rewards herself with the view.

Peridot guessed it was around five. The sun was not rising, but she noticed the sky was slightly brighter than it usually was at midnight. There were a few speckles of lights in the sky that, if desperate, one would wish upon.

There were few other buildings around, sometimes conflicting, other times adding to the sight with their orange tone complementing the dark blue sky. The area around was not too noisy at night. Sometimes faint music could be heard, or a car driving by. Tonight, it was silent.

“Am I ever going to feel free again?” She heard Lapis whisper. Peridot turned to her, who was still gazing at the sky.

How could she say anything, this question might not even be aimed at her? Deep down, Peridot knew she wouldn’t. It would be her fault too; she was the one sucking more information from her. All because she wanted to impress her Diamond, that she dreaded. She barely knew this creature. She was even more curious, and Peridot hated herself for it. Was she free before all this? Where is she from? Is this the only time you’ve been questioned? Hundreds of questions flew through Peridot’s mind. This is why she won’t be free. No, she won’t feel free again.

“Yes.” Peridot couldn’t believe what just came out of her mouth. What was she saying?

“I will make sure of it. You will feel free again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been slowly trying to figure out a new writing style that isn't so bland. I hope this chapter was enjoyable. There will be fluff and lots of lapidot scenes eventually, just you wait.


	5. Due Dates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, before hand, I want to apologize that this chapter is so rushed and short. (I also only checked it a few times, so there might be several typos.)

In one thousand, eight hundred and fifty five seconds, over millions of frames flashed through her mind. It was fascinating, really, one second she was running through a beach during a hurricane, and the next she was sitting in a classroom listening to a lecture about physics. The most interesting vision, however, was that of an angel chained to a moor. Her wings appeared stripped of most of their feathers. A veil covered her face as she stared at the grassy ground. Peridot crept towards her, wanting to offer help, wind pushing her back. The wind got stronger as she got closer, inhibiting her from getting close enough.

 That was until someone started screaming—no… honking? The noise didn’t sound like anything a human’s vocals could produce.

 Suddenly, Peridot felt the comforter beneath her as she focused her eyes on the ceiling. She was in her room again.

 She groaned then slapped her arm over to the side of her bed where the noise was coming from. She really needed to get a more pleasant sounding alarm clock.

 Peridot sat up, still being hugged by her sheets. She stared with half lidded eyes and tried to put everything together. She had a dream—no, multiple dreams, for the first time since childhood. An analysis, she wanted to analyze them. Dreams always had meanings, sometimes they told the future or secret desires.

 Maybe later, it was six o one, and she needed to get ready.

 It took her ten to twenty minutes to get dressed and properly prepared, and eight minutes to eat, what she considered, breakfast. The drive to work was fifteen to twenty five minutes long, depending on traffic. She was always slightly early to her job.

 After fourteen minutes, Peridot was out of the bathroom, hair slick with gel. She made her way down the hallway to prepare a bowl of cereal. She would prefer something else, but that was all she usually could afford.

 “Slow down, race car, if you get ready that fast you might burn you clothes.”

 Lapis had gone back to the makeshift bed, apparently. And, apparently, didn’t sleep _at all._

 “How do you have so much energy?” Peridot questioned, not meeting the other’s gaze, and instead going to her fridge.

 “It kinda happens naturally when you’re wanted dead by a whole facility.” Peridot narrowed her eyes in Lapis’s direction. The winged woman was focusing on stretching one wing. She attempted to do the other, but flinched and winced in pain. Had her fracture gotten worse? Peridot tried to remember if she was that tense last night. Even if she was, Peridot was too tired the previous night to even notice. She did slightly recall the other woman gritting her teeth when she walked through the door.

 “It’s multiple facilities, actually. Is your wing feeling any better?” The blonde didn’t know if that was the best thing to say, considering Lapis’s usual attitude, but it was out there now. Peridot brought the milk she had got from the fridge and put it on her table. She began her search for the cereal box.

 “It feels the same.”

 There was only one box in the cabinet. She obtained her silverware, sat at the small table, pored prepared the cereal—milk first, and began to eat the little cereal left in the box.

 “Want anything?” Peridot, once again, averted her gaze back to Lapis.

 “Uh, no thanks. I don’t think you have enough to spare.” Lapis carried a look of disgust and, was Peridot imagining it, concern? “Besides, I don’t like skim milk and anyone who pores their milk first is dangerous.” The comment was slightly witty, but Peridot decided to avoid the tone.

 The blonde scraped the bottom of the bowl, searching the depths of the milk for any left over flakes of cereal. She was on of the rare people who liked her cereal soggy.

 “You’re very picky for someone who’s probably never been in a grocery store.” She returned to her feet, placing the bowl and spoon in the sink. Peridot usually had time to clean up, but her chat with her guest was delaying her time as it was.

 “You think they would ban me for dying my hair blue?” Peridot heard the couch’s springs groan as she assumed Lapis stood up. Peridot took another mental note: Lapis’ hair isn’t naturally blue.

 “Maybe, but first you would have to fit your wings through the door.” Peridot snickered, glancing to see if she had offended her guest. Lapis didn’t appear angry, she just stood with her arms crossed and the smallest smirk a person could make.

 “Way to discriminate, they used to be a lot more flexible.” Lapis scoffed. “My wings I mean, and easier to hide.”

 As much as Peridot wanted to ask, she had to leave immediately, if she left too late, she could show up late if the traffic was bad. “Well, I’m off. Don’t leave the apartment, don’t go in my room, and please don’t let anyone see you through the windows.”

 Peridot walked past Lapis to grab her bag on the other side of the makeshift bed and started rushing to the door.

 She didn’t look back at Lapis before closing the door. Before slamming and locking, she heard one last remark from her guest.

 “Be careful, asshole.”

 

 The bigger stack of paperwork was the only difference from yesterday. Her office never changed except for the mound of paper. Contrary to her office, Peridot, for once in her life, did change. She had never had so much anxiety before. She had never looked at her ‘hang in there’ poster so much before. She had never procrastinated on her work so much before.

 Peridot stared at her blank report on her monitor. She had to type something about a type of neurotoxin found in a cave in the Bahamas. After that, she had to review all the papers on her desk for errors.

 Never had she avoided the task at hand when she was at work.

 She sat paralyzed at her desk. She was breaking the law at that very moment. Her Diamond could call her any moment. She could be fired at any moment.

 Peridot thought she was experiencing a heart attack when the phone she forgot she had in her office went off. Her hand shook vigorously as she reached for the ringing object.

 “Hello? This is Peridot, Facet 2F5L speaking.” She never got calls in the office.

 “Hey Peridot, it’s Bismuth. Has Yellow called you up yet?”

 Peridot gripped the curling cord of her phone. “H-how did you get my number? You do realize someone could be recording us right now?!”

 “Calm down. It’s not hard to get numbers when you’re a _cop_. As for third party callers, you don’t have to worry about that, Pearl knows her way around that techy stuff. Anyway, have you talked to your boss yet?”

 Peridot loosened her grip on the cord. “No, why? Was I supposed to?” Talking about her boss didn’t exactly get her to ‘calm down.’

 Bismuth let out a sign. “Ok, great. When she calls you up for a report on your mission, just tell her we deposed of the object in question after gathering your info, got it?”

 Was she telling her to _lie_ to her boss? Now that she thought about it, she probably would have done that regardless, but hearing it made Peridot feel like a criminal. “Ok, what do-”

 “Shoot—that’s all, gotta go.” Peridot sat in silence; phone still pressed against her ear, listening to the disconnected beeping it produced after Bismuth cut her off after such a short conversation.

 She placed the phone back in its holder and continued what she was doing before the call: Staring at her blank monitor.

 She would’ve ended up doing so all day, perhaps if the intercom didn’t sound overhead.

 “Facet 2F5L cut 5XG report to the Yellow Diamond office.”

 That was Peridot, and _only_ Peridot. No other employees would be in the office with her this time.

 For a minute, she sat, un-phased. She remembered her call with Bismuth. She would lie to her boss. She would be breaking her boss’s law. She had already broken her boss’s law.

 Like a balloon being inflated, she lifted from her chair. She didn’t grab any utensils, in fear they would drag her back to the ground. She proceeded empty handed to the room. She didn’t worry about taking notes this time around.

 The same guards were pasted outside of the Diamond’s office as last time. They had the same posture, same face, and same reaction to Peridot.

 Peridot didn’t even process opening her own office door. She didn’t process walking down the hall. And she certainty didn’t process walking into her boss’s office. She could think, just not clearly. She could breathe, just not evenly. She could talk, but could she lie straight to her boss’s face?

 Yellow Diamond was focused on her computer, as predicted. Peridot didn’t dare test her rights by speaking; she instead waited for her Diamond to speak first. To Peridot’s surprise, she didn’t see Yellow Pearl in the room, but she still didn’t dare to make the first sound.

 Yellow Diamonds voice was monotone, domineering, and firm.

 “You haven’t turned in your report on your mission yesterday.” Yellow Diamond sneered.

 “I haven’t finished typing it yet, my Diamond.”

 Yellow Diamond didn’t flinch. “You and the other employees stayed very late, I assume you gathered very insightful information?”

 Was she challenging her? Peridot wouldn’t put it behind her if she were. How could she have even started on a report when she’s had to deal with Lapis herself? Now she was going to double up on her lie as well as her report.

 “We gathered an abundance of information, and I wanted to format it in the most efficient way possible.” That would make some sense, maybe even enough sense that her boss would let her slide. It felt like making a bet for the lottery, there was the slightest chance it could work, and she would win.

 Yellow Diamond looked up. “I expect more from you Peridot.”

 Deep down, Peridot knew she would say that. She suddenly wondered if Jenny and Amethyst had quit already like they said they would, but she figured it was not the best choice to ask her boss about it, considering the current situation.

 “I understand that, and I wanted to format the information in the most efficient way possible.”

 Her boss stared at her through narrow, yellow eyes. Peridot always assumed she wore contacts, not because she needed them, but because she wanted to invoke fear into others. “Then I will give you until the end of this week.”

 Only a week? How could she get enough information out of Lapis in only a week? Not to mention her wing needed to heal so she could see how that operated. She hadn’t even gotten all the information; let alone start on the report.

“My Diamond, if I may, there was so much information I gathered and I need several weeks to assure the information is perfect.” Peridot fibbed.

 Peridot’s gaze was pointed at her boss, but she was focused on the wall behind her. She was too mortified to see Yellow Diamond’s deafening reaction.

 “Very well, I’ll give you a month.”

 Peridot let out a mental sign.

 “However, I expect it to be above perfection, if it is not, you’re fired. Understand, Ms. Peridot?”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been having a writing block, so this chapter barely had any interesting character interactions. Also, I am going on a short hiatus for a week or two, so chapters might not be up next weekend. I'm so sorry, I have a lot of school work and I want to focus on my art and animation. You can ask me stuff or check out my art on my tumblr: lunasuta.tumblr.com. Again, I am sorry for this chapter not being as well paced and lengthy!

**Author's Note:**

> Please forgive me for any grammar or spelling errors. I was only able to proof read a few times, due to school. I hope you enjoyed! Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated!


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